Sketches of Baker Street
by Arisprite
Summary: Or the life of Holmes and Watson in 100 sentences. Using KCS's watson woes prompt table, rated T, anything from angst to humor, no slash, plot bunnies up for adoption : Complete!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hopping on the bandwagon here :D I am doing this to hopefully eradicate the rabid plot bunnies that are bouncing around in my head, and stopping me from working on The Counterfeit. Though I think it way have just spawned more...therefore, if you feel so inspired, take them! Please! Just tell me about it so I can read them :) The prompt table is KCS's from the watson_woes live journal. There will 100 sentences posted in increments of 20.

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1. Desperate

Holmes didn't realize Watson had become such an irreplaceable part of his investigations until, when a crazed gunman pointed two revolvers at them, he instinctually moved to place the doctor behind him.

2. Angry

Holmes' first glimpse of Watson's temper was one the day they moved in, when the man couldn't manage a heavy box up the two flights of stairs; the first time the temper was directed at him, he found he pitied the weakness in Watson, to have such ire directed at it.

3. Exhausted

After the shadows under his eyes grew so deep that even Lestrade worried, he finally fell asleep, curled into his armchair across from Watson's watchful eyes, and stubbornly refusing to lay on the couch or go–heaven forbid- to his own bed.

4. Uneasy

The silence in the flat was unnerving, and as Watson ascended the stairs after a long holiday, his stomach tightened in worry at what he would find at the top.

5. Alone

He wrote –and sent!- letter after letter, awkwardly trying to keep up a pretense of normality; he never knew how valued those pages were on the front lines in Europe.

6. Bleeding

"Holmes, you're bleeding," had been a much used statement, much to Watson's dismay, however on this occasion, Watson wondered how a man so stoic about mortal injury, could pout so badly over a cut finger.

7. Haunted

Watson didn't know what demons from the past had cropped up now to keep Holmes from sleep, all he knew was that Holmes could not keep going on like this.

8. Helpless

When every component to his trap was sprung with precision and Watson was left standing dripping wet, and covered with feathers, Holmes couldn't help going into a laughing fit at his outraged face.

9. Dark

Holmes had known that Afghanistan had been terrible; but when Watson, under the influence of a high fever unleashed the full horror of that time upon him, he had nightmares for days of desert sands, and Jezail rifle-fire.

10. Trapped

The light coming in through the high barred window was just enough to see the handiwork of their captors on the face of the man he held in his arms.

11. Terrified

He knew well the thrill of being followed, of angry men closing in around him, of many some ones wanting him dead and gone, even the business end of a revolver was a familiar thing; but never had he felt such terror at the feel of warm blood on his hands, and his friend lying at his feet.

12. Sick

"Doctor, you cannot go," was the entreaty, but Watson wanted to be present to see his dear friend honoured by the Queen, and a case of the sniffles wasn't going to stop him –even if he got scandalized looks for sneezing in front of royalty.

13. Loathsome

An observer would have giggled to see two grown men hiding in the washroom outside of Lady Mildred Bulstrome's ballroom, avoiding the asserted judgments and matchmaking attempts made by that foul woman.

14. Freezing

Winters on the continent were always bitter, but in Watson's experience, he had never seen one so arctic as the one night they spent clinging to each other for warmth, after an upset carriage chase on the plains of northern France.

15. Burning

Swimming in an Italian lake after the conclusion of a successful case was all well and good; but Watson thought they perhaps would not be doing it again, after spending the night treating Holmes for a rather nasty sunburn.

16. Lonely

Holmes did not let Watson's marriage affect his work, he did not fall into one of his "black moods"; but when he would turn to Watson's customary chair, a chain of excited deductions on his lips, to see the empty cushions staring back, he couldn't deny that he missed the man.

17. Heroic

"You idiotic fool," and other insults served to keep Watson blinking as unsteady hands attempted to stem the blood flow, because, _of course,_ Watson would be the one to jump in front of him, and the family they were protecting.

18. Guilty

"Guilty" pronounced the judge, and Watson would wake in a sweat, because he knew that given sufficient motivation, Holmes would make an excellent and capable criminal.

19. Crippled

After a dehabilitating injury to his left shoulder, Holmes was given a new appreciation for Watson's forbearance day to day, as even mounting the stairs caused pain, and he had two functioning legs.

20. Missing

On the second day, Watson worried, on the eighth he went to the Yard, on the fifteenth, to Mycroft; on the twentieth, when Holmes showed up none the worse for the wear in his armchair, Watson was either too busy being furious to feel relief, or vice versa.

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TBC :D Please review


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here is the next bit! Again, all plot bunnies are free to whomever is so inspired. :D

21. Motionless

His eye never wavered from the delicate vials and tubes in front of him, he could cut off the most obnoxious distractions to focus on his chemicals; but when Watson's coughs sounded from upstairs, Holmes flipped off the burner, and went to make a cup of tea.

22. Filthy

Many of Holmes' disguises required a good smudge of dirt across the face, but Watson was relatively certain that falling through the roof of a shed into a pile of coal was not what the detective had had in mind.

23. Demented

The crazed pleasure in the man's eyes, that day in the chemical laboratories, had intrigued rather than disturbed him, a fact which confused Stanford, and brought Watson no end of joy.

24. Bitter

He was rarely wrong, and disliked it immensely; but when the price of not admitting it was very nearly his best and only friend's life, he was not above saying those three words, though the blood they were steeped in made the cup a bitter one indeed.

25. Unconscious

In the still-dark of early morning, Holmes looked at the shadows under Watson's eyes, and almost couldn't bring himself to wake him –until he saw the naked toes peeking out from under the blankets, and grinned.

26. Proud

At one point, he had been very like the bumbler from the Strand stories, but on the day where Watson not only followed one of Holmes' deductions, but also circumvented them, and supplied a new theory; Holmes' quick smile of praise buoyed him more than any formal commendation or medals.

27. Flee

Watson knew they were running after the hellhound, but during the frantic chase on the moor, hearing the beats of the paws, and the baying of the beast, he could have sworn they were the ones being pursued.

28. Hide

With Holmes' boney knee just under his nose, and his own elbows cramped into the detective's side, there was just enough room in the small hollow to stay undercover; neither dared move for fear of the country mob, complete with pitchforks in their wake.

29. Sleep

In the small Swedish hotel, one man paced the corridor between two rooms, ears tuned for any noise, revolver at the ready in his coat pocket; neither he nor Watson would be taken sleeping.

30. Wonder

The ropes cut into his wrists as he twisted to see, from his vantage on the wooden bunk, his quiet, humble biographer taking down three men with only his service revolver, and walking stick, and looking a right fiend; he would hate to be on the receiving end of such ferociousness.

31. Clutch

After the terror of the case, the narrow escapes from certain death for both of them, and worst of all, the capture and torture of his best friend, the final straw to his emotional control came when he felt Holmes' thin hands twisting desperately into the back of his jacket.

32. Break

It wasn't their first argument, but it was the most vicious, for both knew each other well enough to strike at the most tender parts, and they went to bed furious, but the next morning when Holmes began playing Watson's favorite piece, he took that as a sign—he didn't want this to break either.

33. Destroy

Holmes made the appropriate comments regarding the diamond ring Watson was excitedly showing him, saying it would fit Miss. Morston perfectly; inside Holmes wondered if this, rather than men with guns, or petty fights, would be what finally destroyed their friendship.

34. Storm

They closed the curtains, and swept up the glass as best they could, but both still looked at each other in horror when they heard their landlady's footsteps coming up the stairs.

35. Leap

The footing was unsteady, and they stood swaying for a moment before clasping each other's arms, and jumping from the careening carriage; the horseless vehicle crashed from the cliff moments after they rolled to a stop, none the worse for the ill-planned murder attempt.

36. Scream

Holmes had never heard a more chilling sound than Watson crying out in his nightmares; that first time, a few nights into his rooming with the doctor, he simply pulled a pillow over his head, the next time he was more prepared, rising, and grabbing his violin.

37. Fall

Watson never let his readers know how very ill and weak he had been when they first moved in together, Holmes knew better, and remembered all too well the days when he would have his ear tuned for the sound of Watson's bad leg giving out from underneath him.

38. Slander

The talk at the Yard had been respectful, but turned derogatory a year and a half after his death; this stopped after some young constables had made the mistake of mocking Sherlock Holmes' methods within hearing distance of Dr. Watson.

39. Bind

He wriggled, and squirmed, his fingers grasping, until finally he held up the severed rope, with his newly freed hands; Holmes smiled, and retied him with a "try it faster this time, Watson."

40. Accuse

Lestrade saw the signs of their guilt, cut hands, and what may have been black silk masks in the fire grate, but he knew that if he pressed this, Holmes would only make the Yard look idiotic for accusing with no evidence—it was better to leave it be, and trust Holmes knew what he was doing.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I do have all of these finished, so there will be one a day until we reach 100 :) Sound good?

41. Experiment

He had never had a flat mate before, so when Mrs. Hudson mentioned the price at Baker Street, he went away disgruntled, for he knew it was too much for him alone; but when a Doctor Watson agreed to go halves, he thought perhaps he would try it out.

42. Shiver

Since his return from the hot eastern climate, he seemed to have been perpetually chilled—even in the heat of an English summer; Holmes noticed at once, but it was months before he built up the courage to place a blanket over the shivering doctor, as he slept be the fire.

43. Attack

After the strain of being marked for death, and two near misses just hours before, when Holmes was accosted by one of Moriarty's gang, his temper flared; a single punch was enough to take this one down, and he willed the Professor to try harder next time.

44. Stumble

They had to keep moving, the murderers were behind them, and gaining, so when the detective stifled a moan, and clutched his wounded stomach, Watson simply tightened his grip around Holmes' shoulders, when his legs gave out from under him, Watson carried him—he wasn't going to let Holmes die again.

45. Lose

When Mycroft got the telephone call in the mid 1940s, and heard his name cut off by choked swallows, his heart sank; one of them was gone then.

46. Defeat

Now was not the time to give up, but as every one of his plans had been anticipated, and counteracted, and even now the superior mind plotted their ruin as they sat tied together, not even Watson's loyal presence was enough to give him hope.

47. Fail

The allure was strong as it sat there, winking at him from across the room and he stared mesmerized; the feeling of regret at breaking a promise was quickly drowned out in the rush of the drug entering his bloodstream.

48. Choke

It was a truly terrible thing to not be able to breath, a detached part of his mind thought, the rest of him succumbing to panic as the brutes hands tightened around his throat.

49. Murder

An ongoing prank war (which was driving Mrs. Hudson to distraction) caused Holmes to experience a particularly good rebuttal from Watson; he stood surveying the damage, and wondered whether Lestrade would protest at discovering a very dead doctor on his next visit.

50. Crawl

With a blow to the lower leg, combined with a dizzying concussion, and a swollen eye, making walking impossible, he forged onward on his hands and knees, making his painful way towards his fallen friend.

51. Shackles

Watson's eyes pleaded for him to not give in, but the laughs of their captors pounded home the truth; he could give up any life, his own included, except for _his_, and they knew it—he lowered his weapon.

52. Prison

"Well this was a fine idea," said Watson, and Holmes gave him a dirty glare which could barely be seen in the gloomy Californian jail cell.

53. Alley

Holmes had warned him of lonely alleys, and darkened corners, but as he stiffly knelt, and opened his Gladstone bag, he pulled a wry face—half his patients were found there.

54. Rope

The rope burned his hand as he climbed, but it was almost welcome in the bitter cold of the mountains of Tibet.

55. Injection

It was instinct to fill the hypodermic syringe, his fingers knew the exact amount to draw, tied the tourniquet, and found the vein unerringly, but his fingers shook as he pushed in the plunger into Watson's arm; his own boredom was nothing to the white-faced pain in his friends eyes.

56. Instrument

He worked with many different tools throughout any given day: a fork or knife, a razor blade and shaving brush, a scalpel, a revolver… but he liked best his friend's favorite tool, he thought –as Holmes drew the bow across the strings.

57. Dog

Holmes had never been fond of dogs, and the feeling was quite mutual (as evidenced by his inauspicious meeting with Victor Trevor) but even he could not help but take some little pity on the pathetic puppy that the Irregulars had begged him to keep warm for the night.

58. Horse

'Just one more race,' Watson told himself, but when yet another horse lost, he grimaced when he realized he faced the grim task of telling Holmes he could not pay his half of the rent that month.

59. Snake

He'd thought that the 'Speckled Band' had been an animal terror, but that was nothing to the hooded cobra that sat flicking its tongue a mere two and a half feet from their boots.

60. Bed

Holmes had lived with the man for a week when he began to realize that Watson wasn't a late sleeper by inclination, but by necessity; he recognized the habit of waiting until the wee hours of the night to be absolutely sure they will drop off immediately, rather than listen to their own thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm on an uploading spree! Yay! Here is the next set. R&R?

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61. Poker

As it became more and more evident that the Doctor had trouble with his finances, and as the rent came later and later each month, Holmes wondered if he might help by taking away the temptation; he locked up his desk drawer that night.

62. Acid

Lestrade was very glad he had never given in to the occasional temptation to strangle Mr. Sherlock Holmes, for the venom in the doctor's eyes, as he held the men responsible for the detective's near-death at gunpoint, chilled him to the core.

63. Target

Holmes supposed he should have expected it, he had been in the army, after all, but his jaw did drop at the perfect cluster of bullet holes surrounding the motionless thief.

64. Fire

When Watson suggested something new for supper, and issued a warning as to its potency, Holmes declared that anything the doctor could eat, he would as well; minutes later, he retracted his proclamation as tears coursed down his scarlet face from consuming Watson's favorite Indian curry.

65. River

Contrary to popular belief, Watson could swim, in fact it was beneficial for his wounded leg and shoulder; swimming with a concussion and broken ribs, however, was another matter, he thought, as he coughed out the river's icy water.

66. Water

"If I am as bedraggled as you are, than we surely are a pathetic looking pair," Holmes said as he wrung out his hat, and flopped it back on his soaked head; Watson glared at him through his sopping and disheveled hair.

67. Stone

The large boulder, upon which had rested the silver cigarette case, now leant its mass in support of the man who was clutching a letter as he wept .

68. Iron

"What in heaven are you wearing?" Holmes asked, and Watson looked down at his baggy trousers, and high knee socks, then grinned and said, "Why, I'm going golfing."

69. Wood

Holmes had multiple pipes; his favorite was the old, battered clay one, but Watson knew that when he pulled out his dark cherry wood, storms were on the horizon.

70. Bullet

Holmes looked on, sickened, as Watson extracted the bullet, and held out the forceps, clamped tight around the ball, in a shaking hand; the impromptu self-surgery in the basement of an abandoned county house would be forefront in Holmes' nightmares for a long while, he was sure.

71. Dagger

It was one of the few things (besides books) that Watson had brought with him when he moved into Baker Street, and the ornamental eastern dagger received a place of honour above his desk.

72. Poison

"You are the doctor, not me," said Holmes, and laughed to see the consternation on the face of the squirming physician; the poison ivy nearby not at all pleased at having been flattened.

73. Rifle

Watson thought Holmes was just a little too fascinated by Moran's confiscated air-gun, when he shot upwards in the sitting room, just to see what would happen, and the bullet lodged in the ceiling—in Watson's room!

74. Club

One of Holmes' favorite weapons was his heavy walking stick, but when said stick was turned back on his own body, causing massive bruises, and a few cracked ribs, he resolved to make it heavier—he had gotten off too easy.

75. Whip

It was one of the few times that Mrs. Hudson had finally reached her breaking point (after two broken tea cups, ruined curtains and a singed rug, she had good reason) and she refused to prepare her two lodgers any meals until such time as she saw fit; the two said lodgers looked at each other mournfully, their stomachs growling, before Holmes turned to his chemical table with a determined look, and said "I'll just whip something up."

76. Late Nights

Mrs. Hudson's ire continued for the next few days (Holmes and Watson became familiar faces at the nearby restaurants) but when a string of cases, late nights and peril resulted in a wounded Doctor dragging home a more wounded detective, the men found that their landlady was more than ready to forget her quarrel to hand Watson a roll of bandages.

77. Snowstorm

Holmes hated being forced into ignorance, so when the previously light snow fall cut off their view of the road before them, and white was the only colour to be seen, Holmes kept a good grip on the doctor's arm as they carefully inched their way forward.

78. Thunderstorm

Watson had heard of veterans being affected by loud, startling noises, but after six months of being back in England, he rather thought he had escaped that malady ―until a clap of thunder in a summer storm sent him back to the desert, much to his flat mate's alarm.

79. House fire

When Lestrade heard of a house fire on Baker Street he felt a flash of concern; when he arrived on the scene to find both Holmes and Watson covered in soot, and coughing from their daring rescue of their neighbor's young children, he felt he should have known.

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A/N: If you're wondering if there is one missing, you're right. I didn't want to split up the next few, thus saving you guys a cliffie :D Although, does telling you I have a cliff hanger waiting for you qualify AS a cliff hanger??


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I'm soo sorry to leave you all waiting so long for this conclusion! Hope you like it, and remember all bunnies that hop out at you are your own responsibility :)

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80. Accident

With a groan of heaving metal, the train engine lifted off the tracks, crashing and sliding to a stop, leaving the coal and passenger cars twisted like some giant dying snake; inside a dazed Holmes lifted himself from where he had gotten tangled with Watson, and wondered why the train was sideways.

81. Abduction

The train wreck had been a front, Holmes realized, the concussion fogging his mind, and the ties biting into his wrists as he twisted around to see the flames begin to flicker around the fallen locomotive.

82. Falling

Watson woke from dreams of sickening plunges to a reality of a flaming inferno; confused beyond measure, his only real thought was to get out of the smoke –where in heaven is Holmes?― when the window beneath him opened suddenly to send him tumbling to the ground outside.

83. Beating

Holmes could have taken each and every one of the bullies and brutes who had taken him captive had he not been kept drugged with chloroform to keep in nearly insensible; as it was, he could feel, but not fight off the fists and bludgeons.

84. Dark Alley

Watson followed the same trail he had been following for the past hour, leading him from the train wreck, back to the outskirts of London to a small abandoned warehouse; he stopped in an alleyway, rubbing the burned spot on his neck, before fingering the train's coal soot on the doorframe –he was here.

85. Exhaustion

His fingers shook as he pulled out his revolver, he had never been properly treated after the crash, and his neck still burned, but that was no matter now; he kicked open the door to see the bigger of the brutes kick the form of his fallen friend.

86. Death

He charged forward, and the roughs fell back to allow him to see Holmes, lying unmoving, unbreathing, his blood pooling around him, coming from his head, nose, mouth and other unseen wounds –far too much for him to live without.

87. Revenge

He roared, and the men started, looking at each other fearfully seconds before they were taken down, it was just a few seconds before they were all on the floor, fallen at the hand of the good doctor and his stick, and unmatched revolver aim.

88. Collapse

A soft murmur brought him out of his blood daze, Holmes was moving weakly, and Watson dropped to his knees—he was alive!

89. Knockout

It wasn't often that Holmes let himself be rankled because of someone sneering at his lack of bulk, but when the large boxer challenged him to a match, a condescending smile fixed firmly on his face, Holmes accepted; after the match, as Watson dabbed blood from his broken nose, Holmes looked with satisfaction at the beaten man limping from the ring.

90. Self Defense

"It wasn't _my_ fault!" declared Holmes, hiding the floppy depleted pillow behind his back, beside him, Watson innocently blew a feather from his mustache.

91. Defense of another

"Holmes, sometimes you can be very cruel," said Watson as he left to consol the young lady fleeing from the sitting room, tears running down her face from harsh words said in a time of sorrow.

92. Illness-contracted by a patient

When Holmes went to fetch Watson from his consulting rooms, he did not plan on having a sick child thrust into his arms by a desperate mother of five, nor on having said child cough, and sneeze all over him before its mother took it away, he especially didn't plan on catching the child's illness, and on having to solve the case from his sick bed.

93. Illness-contracted during a case

The stakeout was long, cold and wet, and the two men shivered throughout the night; in the morning, they chased and caught the criminal, but it wasn't until the next day that they discovered the full effects of the case when they both awoke coughing.

94. Injury-accidental

Holmes supposed he could see the benefits to living with a physician, as Watson stitched up his hand, the broken glass dripping bandy mixed with blood onto the carpet.

95. Injury-intentional

Holmes lazily pressed a handkerchief against the pinhead of blood that appeared on the crook of his elbow as he withdrew the needle.

96. Author's Choice –Bereft

Watson pressed his hands against his face until he saw flashes of light behind his eyelids, but when he opened them the stone in front of him still read SHERLOCK HOLMES.

97. Author's Choice ―Thoughtful

"What was it about this man that allowed him to continue this precarious living arrangement with very little shedding of blood, when no one else had ever survived such a position?" Holmes thought, as he pulled on the pipe; though perhaps, as he looked at the sleeping doctor, some things were better left unpondered.

98. Author's Choice ―Long-Suffering

Mrs. Hudson, however often she may shout, scold, cajole, or upbraid her two tenants, in unguarded and unobserved moments, the affection she felt for her two boys made her wonder how she could ever think to throw them out.

99. Author's Choice ―Contraction

Very occasionally, after a long days work or a hard case, Watson's leg would act up, resulting in painful spasms; all he could do ride them out, gripping whatever came to hand in a white-knuckled grip –after a bad fall it was Holmes' hand that gripped back.

100. Author's Choice – Stiff

Holmes could tell that Watson was a military man from his upright bearing, wounded and ill from the weight, colouring, and movement compensation, a doctor from the stethoscope poking up from his coat pocket; what he could not tell was why the man accepted him as a flat mate, even less why the man stayed month after year after decade.

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A/N: I do hope you all liked that! I may do more of these in the future, because they are really fun :) Also, upon looking back on this chapter, I realized that there is quite a lot of Holmes angst. I think I was beating up on the doctor earlier though, so I guess it all evens out. Hope you don't mind! Tell me what you think, and just let me know if you get inspired! :D


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